Railway-rail-joint-connecting plate.



PATENTED APR, 14, 1903.

R. B. CHARLTON. RAILWAY RAIL JOINT CONNECTING PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

V INVENTOR:

" A BY ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

UNITE STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD B. CHARLTON, OF'MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

RAILWAY-RAIL-JOINT-CONNECTING PLATE. Y

SPECIFICATION formingpart of LettersPatent No. 725,613, datedApriI 14,1903.

Original application filed January 27, 1902, SerialNo. 91,308. Dividedand this application filed June 23, 1902. $er ial I N0. ll2|731. (Nomodel) To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, RICHARD B. CHARLTON, acitizen of the United States,residing at'Milwankee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin RaiIWayR'ail-JOint- Connecting Plates; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and usethe same,.reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thenumerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecificaion.

The objects of this invention are to provide a combined base-plate andfish-plate for-railjoints, to'secure a construction in which a firmholding contact with both the base and the sides of the rail is-obtainedby a single series.

same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth andfinallyembraced in the clauses of the claim;

Referringtotheaccompanyingdrawings,in which like numerals of referenceindicate corresponding parts in both figures, Figure 1 shows in sectiona jointof my improved construction, and Fig. 2 is a similar Viewillustrating the use of one of my improved plates with anold-style'fish-plate on the opposite side of the rail. v r

In said drawings, 2 indicates vone of two rail ends longitudinallyabutting, as is comneath the rails and is provided with an integralupright extension 6. This extension is preferably vertical orperpendicular to the base portion 4: and extends upward to a heightapproximately equal to that of the under side of rail-head 7. From thetop of the upright extension 6 a bearing portion 8 is bent inward towardthe rail and adapted to extend beneath the head thereof to engagethesame, being preferably inclined so as to present a Wedge-likebearing. From the inner edge of said portion 8 a vertical portion 9extends downward substantially at right angles to the bearing portion orparallel to the main portion 6 of the upright extension, and thereforealso parallel to the web 10 of the rail. A lower bearing portion 11 isturned outward from the bottom of said vertical portion 9 toward theupright extension 6 and is inclined somewhat downward to fit against theupper surface of the rail-base flange 17. The said upright extension 6and vertical portion 9 of-each connecting-plate are perforated withbolt-holes l2, inalinement with the-usual bolt-holes 13 inthe verticalweb of the rails,and through all said bolt-holesextend clamping-boltsl8, headed at one end and provided at the other with threads 14k andnuts 15, screwing thereon. When, therefore,

theconnectingplates have been applied to a joint, one'on each side, thesaid transverse bolts are inserted and nuts 15 tightened up. This drawsthe connecting-plates toward the rails and forces the upper and lowerbearing portions 8 and 11, respectively, tighter and tighter into thespacebetween the head and base of the" rails. Furthermore, as the lowerbearing portion slides upon the top surface of the rail-base it forcesthe base portion 4 of the connecting-plate firmlycand solidly upwardagainst the under surface of the railbase. This provides a seat fortherail ends, and the upright extension 6 and portion 11 serve as girdersto giverigidity to the joint.

I thus provide a combined base-plate. and fish-plate and one which canbe clamped to the rails by a single row of transverse bolts, as nowcommonly used for ordinary fishplates.

Preferably the base member of each plate terminates a little short ofthe median line of the rail, so that they do not reach each other whentightened up,-as shown in Fig. 1. Obviously, however, one of my improvedconnecting-plates may be employed at one side of a joint in connectionwith an ordinary fish-plate of any kind at the other, and

in this easel prefer to extend the base por-,

tion of the connecting-plate clear under the rail ends, so that itprojects at the opposite side from the upright extension, as shown at 16in Fig. 2. A lip 19 preferably continues outward fromthe uprightextension in the plane of the base memberto receive the spikes forholding the rails to the ties.

Under some conditions Washers or staysleeves 20 may be placed on thetransverse bolts 18, between the vertical portions 6 9 of theconnectingplate, as shown in Fig. 1,.to secure greater rigidity andfirmness of the joint against lateral strain.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is I [1. 'In arail-joint, the combination with the meeting ends of two T-rails, ofacombined base-plate and fishplate arranged at one sideof the rail endsand comprising a horizontal body portion having the rail-bases seatedupon one marginal portion thereof, and a rightangular extension at theother or-exposed margin of said body portion, said extension having itsouter portion bent inwardly over the body portion and returnedsubstantially of therail ends and comprising a horizontal body portionhaving the rail-bases seated upon one marginal portion thereof, arightangularextension at the other-or exposed margin of the said bodyportion, said exten-. sion having its outer portion bent inwardly overthe body portion and returned substantially parallel to the main portionof the extension at a distance therefrom, and having its extremityturned or bent toward said main portion at an inclinationto the bodyportion and terminating short of said main portion, whereby aninwardly-narrowing space with a resilient 'side wall is provided.

The herein-described base-plate and fishplate combined consisting of abase portion respect to said base portion, a portion 9, extending fromsaid bearing portion toward the base portion substantially paralleltothe upright extension and forming between its end and said baseportionan outwardly-flaring space, and alip 19, at the opposite side ofthe upright extension 6, from the base portion and in the same planetherewith.

' 4. In. a rail-joint, the combination with the meeting ends of, twoT-rails, of a combined base-plate and fish-platearranged at one side ofthe rail ends and comprising a horizontal bodyportion having therail-bases seated upon one marginal portion thereof, and having at theopposite or outer margin of said base portion an integral uprightextension bent at an upper poin't toward the rail then downwardsubstantially parallel to the web and then outward from the rail,terminating in a free extremity, and thus forming resilient upper andlower bearings 8, 11, respectively, toengage-the rail, andclamping-bolts 18, passing through said upright extension,parallelportion and web of the rail. r

5. In a rail-joint, the combination of two connecting plates arranged atoppositesides of the rail ends, each comprising a horizontal base memberadapted to support the rails and extendingbeneath the same a disuprightportion integral with said base member and being 'bent, inward towardthe rail and returned downward and adapted to engagethe underside ofthe-head and the upper surface of the foot of the rail, andclamping-bolts passed transversely through the web of the rails, and thesaid upright and returned portions ofthe connecting-plates and adaptedto bind said plates to the rails.

6. In a rail-joint, the combination with the RICHARD B. CHARLTON.Witnesses:

M. E; CHRISTENSEN, Y I-IUGH'P; KAYn, Jr.

tance less than half the width of the rail, an

meeting ends of two rails, of a connecting-

